# Chapter 14

Michael sat at his room. It was rather empty. All the toys were sold. All that left of it's previous glory, was the pile of Vodka Plus cans. He was drinking one and watching sad films. He was afraid that he would get to the same level of depression as his Dad. But it didn't matter anymore. A character on the screen was dying. A little child was begging the universe so that character will not die. But he died anyway. As the child on the screen broke into tears. Michael broke into tears as well.

Poor Alice, he thought after the film had ended. If only not that bastard Johnathan. They could be together. Then he realized that he is the one who decided to go. Well, he thought, he was stupid. But there is no way back. He will not be able to look at any of them anymore. Not in a million years.

This is when Michael turned on another sad film. As the credits rolled onto the screen, sad music filled up the space. Michael continued to drink his can of poisonous beverage.

He was asleep when the door opened up. The steps woke him up. It was Dad. "Michael?" - he said - "What happened to you?". Dad didn't receive non of Michael's care for a long time already. It started bothering his Dad. Michael didn't answer anything. As if he now turned one like Dad. Completely pointless existence.

For a few months Michael and Dad ate only when it was physically painful to keep laying down in tears. They both dropped in weight. One day, Michael's door opened with a rather interesting surprise. His Dad came in with food that he had made. "Michael, food!" - he said. This cheered Michael a little bit. He thought that maybe even if he gets slightly better, he must continue showing depression as it seems to cure Dad from his own.

The fifteenth birthday was not very lavish. It was rather small. They did have a small cake. But that's it. There were no presents. There were no guests. Just two of them silently eating the cake in their own worlds of sorrow.

Toilet was calling. Michael didn't pick up the phone for a long time. This time he did. "Monkey, how are you, where you've been?" - said the character on the toilet.

"Private matters, Toilet." - said Michael.

"Well, have you finish your ordeal with Neon?"

"I forgot about him. But quite frankly I don't need him anymore."

"Do you want to help me with something?" - asked Toilet - "I have this weird bug that I cannot figure out."

Michael thought about somehow turning it into a business. Maybe he can make Toilet pay him for this help. But how? No, thought Michael, this is impossible. I cannot charge him. It will never work. Damn that bastard driver and his teachings!

"What is the bug?" - asked Michael and then completely forgot about Toilet. His mind wandered about. He sunken deep into his thoughts. "Monkey! Monkey!" he heard somebody say. He didn't want to answer.

A few days would pass until he would talk to anybody again. This time he spoke to a store owner who sold earbuds. He bought a pare and listened to sad music while walking around the structures. He avoided the turn. He didn't want to see anyone of that family by mistake. He wandered in a different direction.

For few days at a time he would not remove his earbuds at all. Not pausing the music even once. He would simply listen and listen and listen and listen forever. He would even sleep with music playing at full volume in his ears.

One day Michael found a saw laying in one of the rooms. He dug deeper and found a tool box full of various knifes, rulers and materials. A nostalgic feeling came back to him. It was the toolbox that he once used as a boy. Long time ago they made mechanical toys with it.

He started working on a toy. He sat down at his chair and measured some cuts. Then using the saw he cut a slice of the wooden plank. This felt nice. He loved the feeling. So he kept doing it. Until a few hours later, he had a working toy. It was a little dog that could be sited. It had a spring loader on the back. If you loaded the dog and then released the level, it would sit for about a minute and then jump into a standing position. It was not sophisticated, but it brought a smile to Michael. He felt like he had finally finished something.

He took the dog and went into the father's room. "Dad, look what I did" - he said. Dad turned around. He saw the dog. "You did it now?" - he asked. "Yes" - was the answer. Michael showed the function of the mechanism to Dad. Dad seemed happy. For the first time in years, both of them were smiling in the same time.
